telescope things?

Question

I was wondering where I could get a high-tech telescope where I can see starss close up and planets close up. do you know of any places?

Answer 1

The "where" question is easy: a telescope store. Look in the Yellow Pages under "Telescopes" to find them. If there aren't any in your community, buy from an online telescope store, such as Orion. Whatever you do, stay away from telescopes in department stores, discount stores, and eBay. They may look "high tech" but they are junk, little more than kid's toys.

What you mean by "high tech" may be quite different than what I, as an astronomer, mean by "high tech." A high tech telescope for me is one which has superb optics and a solid vibration-free mount. It may or may not have a computer; that's nowhere near as important as having excellent optics and a solid mount. The best computer in the world won't show you much if the images are faint and fuzzy and the mount shakes like jelly. I usually recommend that beginners avoid electronics and concentrate on a scope with good optics and a good mount, such as these Dobsonian reflectors:
http://www.telescope.com/control/category/~category_id=dobsonians/~pcategory=telescopes/~VIEW_INDEX=0/~VIEW_SIZE=1000000
http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/swtinc/product.php?class1=1&class2=106

If you want a computerized telescope with good optics and mount, you're looking at $1000 or more:
http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=cassegrains/~pcategory=telescopes/~product_id=09945

None of these telescopes will show you stars close up. The stars are very very far away, and the only star you'll ever see close up is the Sun, but you'll need a special filter for that. Most beginners are disappointed in how small the planets appear through even the best telescopes; it takes a lot of practice to see fine detail on the planets. What you _will_ be able to see, if you can view from dark skies, is hindreds of star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. Which brings up another point: Because of light pollution in our cities and towns, your telescope must be portable enough to transport to dark skies unless you're willing to be limited to the brightest objects.

Answer 2

If you have little or no experience, you need to get to know things a bit before you go for a big purchase like that. Your question indicates that you don't have experience, so listen carefully...

Firstly, read this link, especially the bit about "Money and Before You Buy". Never mind that it says Australia, the principle is the same:

http://astronomy.concreteairship.com/sco...

The last thing you want is a "high-tech telescope". High-tech doesn't mean you can see more. Some of the best telescopes for seeing faint objects are decidedly low-tech, while the high-tech ones are what the layman would describe as "small".

Planets will look like small discs, except at the highest magnification (a term many people hate, because it's not the most important factor), and even then it's difficult to make out differences. It's something you learn to be patient about. If you're not going to be patient about learning over a long period, you might as well look at pictures of them in books.

Stars don't look any different to how they look to the naked eye. The reason you might look at a star is because it's a multiple through a telescope, with an interesting colour difference.

This may not sound exciting, but the fact is that you can see these things despite their distance. And as you get to observe better, know what to expect, and remember what you saw last time, you'll learn more just by observation.

As it sounds like you may have not much experience observing, a good first idea is to get onto a local amateur astronomy club or "star party", because those folks will be very happy to help. If you're looking for a first scope, I'm willing to bet that they (and others here) will recommend a medium-aperture reflector on a Dobsonian mount. You will take a while to get to know the sky, but that's part of the fun.

Don't have unrealistic expectations, and listen to the people who know.

Answer 3

I can recommend several places to you where you can obtain telescopes to see the stars and planets. However, none of those telescopes will permit you to see the stars or planets really close up like the Hubble or Spitzer Space Telescopes.

About the largest telescope that a civilian can afford costs in the neighborhood of $ 30,000 and is a 16 Inch Mirror design using a folded light path similar to a Schmidt Cassegrain design. The Mount for such a telescope will cost an additional $ 25 to $ 30,000, and you will need some kind of permanent structure to install it inside of because the weight we are talking about here is not reasonable to move around.

Used 16 Inch Reflector Telescopes may be obtained without mounts for around $8,000 to $20,000 depending upon what level of fine optics and accessories are being purchased.

Smaller telescopes may be purchased at much less cost.
Almost all of them under around $800 will show distant stars as pinpoints of light, and you may be able to distinguish the rings of Saturn and the cloud formations on Jupiter with some of them. Sophisticated optics cost lots of money and you must be aware of that up front.

You can use Binoculars and inexpensive telescopes to get some fantastic views of the Moon which is very bright on many nights and only 240,000 Miles away.

Typical telescopes come with one Eyepiece, usually a 25 mm EP. For actual use, one normally requires an assortment of Eyepieces to get different views from the instrument. Some EP's are extremely High Power such as 4 mm, and 5 mm EP's. Using those EP's you will be looking at a very, very small spot in the sky and your appreciation of the view will be determined by the quality of that EP. Some may cost as little as $20, while good ones may run from $250 to $600 per EP. A very nice Televue Nagler 25 mm EP might cost you $500 used. Depending upon the focal length of your telescope, the power of that EP might be 25 to 50 Power, and have a nice wide view of the sky. A 35 mm or 40 mm EP gives you less magnification power and an even wider view. (EP = Eyepiece).

It is therefore highly recommended that you take the time to visit and possibly join some local astronomy clubs to get a good feel for what you are investigating and possibly purchasing. I cannot overemphasize that it is not practical to see fantastic views of the Universe with a $250 telescope, but you can see some really neat stuff on the Moon for that cost. Also, if your budget is small, you might consider some of the variable power binoculars which can serve you as general purpose terrestrial binocs as well as provide interesting sky views.

See:

http://www.telescopes.com
http://www.meade.com
http://www.astromart.com
http://www.cloudynights.com

and good luck to you...
Zah

Answer 4

Go to your local university or observatory-they might be able to lend you their big telescope provided you have good contacts there. Some have weekly guided tours of their telescopes.

Answer 5

Hi. Very few will show planets really close up and NONE will show stars as any more than points. Try Meade, Celestron, Orion, and other places for good scopes.

Answer 6

They are all over the place but cost $$$. You need to spend $1,000+ to do anything serious.

Otherwise just go to Edmunds and get a $150 special.

Answer 7

Join your nearest astronomy club and talk with the members.

Answer 8

wait till you see what's out there to look at !!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW !!!!!!!!!

mind blowing !!!!